A grass-roots campaign and lobbying effort to “keep Lumberjacks Day local” paid off for a group of Stillwater residents and business owners Thursday night.

The Stillwater City Council voted 4-1 to have the group called The Locals produce a summer festival to replace Lumberjack Days. The new festival, which will be held the third weekend in July, will be called Stillwater Log Jam.

“This is a city event, and it needs to be run by our citizens,” council member Mike Polehna said. “Lumberjack Days started with local residents Bob and Diane Thompson. They had a vision of everybody working together and the community running it. It should be the local group running it.”

Dozens of supporters of the The Locals had lobbied city council members in the days leading up to the vote. A Facebook page “Keep Lumberjack Days Local” had garnered 1,175 “likes” on Facebook by Thursday afternoon.

The Locals beat out three other finalists — Filo Productions of St. Paul; Genius of Fun Events of St. Croix Falls, Wis., and Minneapolis; and Mid-America Festivals Corp. of Shakopee.

“The outpouring of support from the community really was the turning point for our entire group in terms of inspiration and in terms of the impact that it had on the council,” McQuay said after the meeting.

Council member Ted Kozlowski said he had received more than 50 emails in support of The Locals since Sunday. “We could probably burn down the library and wouldn’t get 50 emails,” he said.

Kozlowski said he was impressed with the quality of the emails — not just the quantity.

“The emails were so heartfelt and sincere and detailed,” he said. “It wasn’t a bunch of people saying, ‘Support The Locals.’ It was, ‘I remember Lumberjack Days in 1974. …’ I could feel the love that the community has for this event, and the support that this group has. It was exceptional, inspiring.”

Stillwater Log Jam will be a three-day festival and will spotlight Minnesota music, said Creager, who runs Square Lake Productions. “There is so much talent in the area,” he said. “We’re so close to the metro area; it’s an incredible resource for music and art.”

In addition to concerts, Stillwater Log Jam would feature a soap box derby, lumberjack demonstrations, a Miss Stillwater pageant, a water ski show, dragon boat races and a fireworks show.

Council member Doug Menikheim, the lone dissenter on the council, said he was concerned about the financial viability of The Locals.

“It’s not our job to run events, but it is our job to be accountable,” Menikheim said. “In order to be accountable, we need to put (in place) people who can be successful. You don’t have a financial backer; that makes me nervous.”

According to materials submitted to the council, The Locals said they have pledges of sponsorships from Lakeview Health, Associated Eye Care, Andersen Corp., VistaTek, Stillwater Motors, Lift Bridge Brewery and Smalley’s Caribbean BBQ & Pirate Bar.

The Locals also have the support of the Main Street Stillwater Independent Business Association, which endorsed The Locals earlier this week.

“The mission of the IBA is to support local, independent businesses and putting our support behind this group does just that,” the group wrote in an email to council members Tuesday. “The Locals embody the values and community spirit of the IBA and are the IBA’s first choice as the festival planning group for the new Stillwater summer event.”

Council member Tom Weidner said it would have been “easy” to rent out the city to a festival organizer with financial backing like Filo Productions or Mid-America Festival Corp.

“I want a festival by the community,” Weidner said, addressing The Locals. “You’re the greatest risk, but it’s not our festival. It’s the community’s festival. It should be thrown by the community. We’re looking for a community event that is supported by the community. I hope that this risk is worth it.”

Lumberjack Days drew regional crowds to a four-day event that included major outdoor concerts on the banks of the St. Croix River, but the city council terminated Stillwater’s contract with the festival association after the 2011 festival, citing unpaid bills, pending litigation and public disapproval.

Eckberg is seeking dismissal of charges against him, arguing that his actions — writing checks he couldn’t cover to companies that provided services and products for the 2011 event — were not criminal.

Mary Divine is a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She covers Washington County and the St. Croix River Valley, but has also spent time covering the state Capitol. She has won numerous journalism awards, including the Premack Award and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists' Page One Award. Prior to joining the Pioneer Press in 1998, she worked for the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin and at the St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press. Her work has also appeared in a number of magazines, including Mpls/St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business Monthly and Minnesota Magazine. She is a graduate of Carleton College and lives in St. Paul with her husband, Greg Myers, and their three children, Henry, 16, Frances, 14, and Fred, 11.

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